Nearly 20 million Americans have already voted early, according to Newsweek, and the Vatican says one of them is the pope. The Pope Leo XIV vote is real news: the Holy See said Friday that Leo has submitted a mail-in ballot for the Nov. 3 midterms, which would make him the first pope to vote in a US general election. One key detail remains unconfirmed, though: no one has verified that the ballot actually arrived.
Here is what the Vatican has confirmed, what remains unconfirmed, and why it matters to you.
What the Vatican actually said about the Pope Leo XIV vote
The Holy See press office said Leo, born Robert Prevost, “has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen” whenever he was eligible. It added that he also voted in Peru, where he lived for years, whenever he could.
The statement framed the vote as a civic duty, not a political endorsement. The Holy Father, it said, believes in the right and the duty of citizens to take part in democratic processes. That is the whole message.
Nobody is saying how he voted, and nobody will. Ballots are secret, even for the pope, so this papal ballot stays private.
How we know about the Pope Leo mail-in ballot
The story broke Thursday when the Chicago Sun-Times reported that the pope had requested a mail ballot. A top aide in the Will County clerk’s office said Prevost asked for it on Oct. 3. His registration lists his birth name, Robert Francis Prevost, at a New Lenox address in Illinois. That address is his brother’s home.
Illinois lets any registered voter vote by mail without giving a reason. Federal rules also let citizens living abroad do the same.
So the process was ordinary. The voter was not.
Here’s the thing: one detail is still fuzzy
The Vatican says it has submitted the ballot. But local reports on Thursday and Friday quoted the clerk’s office saying no marked ballots had come back yet. I found no confirmation from the clerk that the office has received and accepted this one.
The Vatican also said only that he submitted it “in Chicago,” which does not explain how a ballot got from Rome to Illinois. So the claim comes from the Vatican and the wire services, and nobody has independently confirmed it. A ballot only counts if it arrives on time, so check the deadline details with the Illinois State Board of Elections. Until then, the pope’s vote remains a claim, not a counted ballot.
The first pope to vote claim needs a footnote
“First pope to vote in a US election” is the framing from the Vatican, the AP and CNN. The broader claim that no pope has ever voted in any secular election rests on a single historian’s best guess, not a verified record. Reports do agree on one thing: Leo has cast ballots in both Democratic and Republican primaries over the years, and in the 2024 presidential election.
Why a pope midterm vote lands in a political fight
The timing is not quiet. CNN reports Leo has clashed with the Trump administration over the war in Iran and the immigration crackdown. Forbes reports President Trump earlier this year said Leo should be “thankful” and claimed that without him in the White House, Leo would not be in the Vatican. The pope answered that he has no fear of the administration. Trump has been less critical lately, per CNN. That history is why a vote from Rome, in the final days before the midterms, draws attention.
Leo has also made headlines beyond politics; see our report on his historic AI encyclical. He also had lung cancer surgery on Oct. 13 and canceled an in-person appearance in Assisi, so this is a pope doing his civic homework while recovering.
What it means for you
The Vatican’s message to the millions who have already voted, and to everyone still sitting on the fence, is simple: if the pope can get a ballot done from Rome, you can get to the polls. Meanwhile, the White House is working the phones as the campaign closes.
If you voted by mail in Illinois, ask your county clerk whether the office received your ballot. Do not wait until Tuesday to find out.
Watch three things next. First, will the Will County clerk confirm the pope’s ballot arrived? Second, will the Vatican explain how it came back? Third, will the White House say anything? So far, none has.
